Detox diet! The term has been around for quite some time in the media, thanks to a wide range of celebrity endorsement of the concept.
So what does the concept mean and what account for its soaring popularities?
detoxicate is a type of dietary regimen that calls for changes in the existing eating pattern in favor of high fiber, vitamin and anti oxidant rich healthy, preferably organic foods in their raw and unprocessed forms. These types of foods are claimed to detoxify the body by eliminating toxins and other harmful substances. As a result, the dieter regains energy, an improved health, reduced risk of certain diseases, improved digestion and even a better look and slimmer body.
Thus ultimately, the detoxicate revolves round the concept of positive life style changes and it becomes more a life style choice rather than a dietary option.
Despite its many advantages the detox diet is not immune from the attacks of the critics. Let us examine what these critics have to say against detox diet.
The main arguments against detox diet revolve round three basic issues: – Detox diets are not at all required as the body has its own process of detoxification. – There is no adequate evidence to establish the efficacy of detox diet. – Most of the detox products are costly – Although rarely, in some instances, the detox diet proved to be harmful for the user. – It has been argued that the detox diet suffers from its own inherent anomalies: detox diet preaches giving up of animal products like meat, fish etc on the ground that they add up more toxins to the body. But in reality there are a number of fruits and vegetables that contribute to more toxins than the animal products.
Critics also hold that human body is well equipped with such organs as liver, kidneys, lungs and skin that are designed to expel the contaminations from the body naturally. As the human civilization advanced, these organs also evolved adequately to deal with the environmental disturbances. So there is no need to employ any other means from outside to interfere in the process of natural detoxification.
In the more practical plane, the switch over from an ordinary diet to a detox diet involves certain risk factors. There have been instances where detox diet led to fainting, irritability, headache and other withdrawal symptoms.
If the detox diet results in toxin release into the bloodstream in such a pace that body fails to eliminate it with the same speed, the body becomes further contaminated; an effect commonly known as Herxheimer reaction.
Too much restrictive detox diet, such as water fasting results into nutrient deficiency. Then in most of the cases, the detoxicate lacks in the protein components. This leads to loss of lean muscles. In the absence of lean muscle tissues, the metabolic rate also diminishes. As a result, the dieter may put on weight in spite of low calorie intake.